11,000 runners cheated at the Mexico City Marathon

Data from the organizers shows that many runners did not pass the checkpoints arranged every 5 km on the race track on August 27. This means that those runners cheated by taking shortcuts and not completing the prescribed route.

Others were complained by fellow runners for using bicycles or other public transport to cheat during competition.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca on September 6, the organizers of Mexico City Marathon 2023 will strictly handle, identify cases of fraud and cancel results. "This prestigious race is not only a festival for the people of the capital, but also an opportunity to reaffirm the transcendent values ​​of sports spirit," the organizers of Mexico City Marathon 2023 emphasized in a statement. .

In the men's event, Bolivian runner Hector Garibay Flores finished first with 2 hours, 8 minutes and 23 seconds, breaking the tournament record - 2 hours, 10 minutes and 38 seconds - set by Kenyan athlete Titus Ekire in 2018. In the women's event, Kenyan runner Celestine Chepchirchir won with 2 hours 27 minutes 17 seconds.

The Mexico City Marathon is classified as a gold race by the World Athletics Federation and is one of the most popular events in Latin America, attracting nearly 40,000 runners to participate annually. The results of the tournament are used by runners to register for approval to attend the Boston Marathon - the world's oldest and most prestigious running race.

However, Mexico City Marathon has also suffered a bad reputation many times because of cheating athletes. In 2018, the tournament organizers eliminated more than 13,000 cheating runners to win a spot to attend the 2019 Boston Marathon.